Trusting Your Care Team: A Blood Cancer Patient's Frustration...My worst fear is trusting doctors and care team. I wasn't scheduled to see my oncologist this month, and from the looks of it, no one checked my blood count...reactionscomments
Chronic Lymphoma Leukemia (the second cancer)...I was told my whole adult life I had dense breasts. I really didn’t have a chest before kids. I breastfed both my kids. At 37 years old, I saw...reactionscomments
What is something you do to show self compassion as you navigate blood cancer?...We go through so much as we journey through blood cancer. Quite often the worry, the treatments, the watching and waiting can take us away from being compassionate toward ourselves...reactions2repliesTips & AdviceAwarenessCoping
Exercise: Yes We Can!...As blood cancer patients, we have all been told that exercise is good for us. We have all been advised that daily exercise is a good idea. But when living...reactionscomments
Sweats, Chills, and Fatigue...Have you ever felt like blood cancer takes most of your energy, and all you have is the leftovers? I have been a leukemia patient since 2011. I have felt...reactionscomments
The Life Lessons of Living with Leukemia...The song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is running through my head today. What do I want? A life free of blood cancer, that’s what. But as the...reactions1comment
Flights of Compassion-Angel Flights...Have you ever heard of Angel Flights? I had heard the term and had a vague idea what they were, but never in a million years would I think I...reactions5comments
Sleep Would Be Nice...When I had blood cancer, I had a whole bunch of symptoms. One of them happened to be insomnia. I was in so much pain, nauseous a lot of the...reactions18comments
When the Caregiver Has Blood Cancer...When I retired from teaching in 2017, I wasn't feeling well and was in the process of having several medical tests run. In the last month of school, I told...reactions4comments
Appreciating, and Missing, My Blood Cancer Sister...I used to say that my blood-cancer-sister Patricia Jempty, who called herself PJ, was my doppelganger, or double. I think that’s what she called me many moons ago when she...reactionscomments
Broken By Blood Cancer...Somewhere along the line, everyone comes face to face with overwhelming obstacles in their lives, along with full-blown life crises. It could arrive as a single event like a broken...reactionscomments
Your Advice For Others: Building A Strong Support System...In the face of blood cancer, building a strong support system can make a world of difference. This compilation features advice shared by members of our community in a recent...reactionscomments
Why People Play Down Blood Cancer and How To Deal With It...There’s been a lot of talk lately about having our cancer diagnosis minimized, and I have to say that I have experienced it myself and know many people have. Why...reactions12comments
Using Values to Navigate Life Transitions After a Cancer Diagnosis...A cancer diagnosis is a definitive change catalyst. After receiving their news, patients often find their lives bouncing through tumultuous change, particularly at the very beginning of their cancer journeys...reactionscomments
My Quest to Find My Pre-Leukemia Self...As a writer, some of my best ideas and thoughts arrive at unexpected times. Such was the case today when I was driving home from occupational therapy. This is my...reactionscomments
My Support System...I’m very lucky in that I have an amazing support system. It’s something that was very apparent from the moment I was diagnosed. Friends taking me to the hospital. Visitors...reactionscomments
Tolerating Testing and Treatment...When I was a kid, needles were terrifying! It was common for me to kick, scream, and fight when told I needed a shot or blood draw. Yes, this actually...reactions2comments
Change and More Stress Are Coming...Today has also been really hard for a variety of reasons. My toddler has needed a lot of attention and focus after spending 3 nights with her father. Things with...reactionscomments
Preventive Medicine and Multiple Myeloma Advocacy...I had the pleasure of attending this year’s ACPM (American College of Preventive Medicine) conference in Washington DC. In a nutshell, ACPM’s main mission is to modify the healthcare system...reactionscomments